Posts tagged "gambling"

Cat people sometimes get a lot of static from dog people for how much more useful dogs can be in practical ways. You can teach dogs endless tricks, train them to hunt, herd, play sports, perform rescues, etc. Cats, outside of maybe keeping mice away from the barn or the kitchen, aren't particularly useful.

Well maybe that's just because we set the bar too low for our feline friends. The whole world assumes they're useless, so we don't expect anything out of them. Maybe cats aren't ever going to be able to join the police force, but that doesn't mean we can't find other areas in which they might excel.

Like gambling.

Take Frida here. No, she's not an expert in the shell game yet, but as the sayings go, two out of three ain't bad, and practice makes perfect. Won't be long before she's finding the ball every time. From there you teach her to count cards, put her up in the Rain Man suite at Caesar's Palace, and soon enough you'll be cleaning the place out at the blackjack table. Or go the other way with it and teach Frida some more short cons, take her to the subways in the Big Apple and have her grift rube tourists for all the cash in their money belts. Sure, none of it's as honorable as the kind of jobs our dogs do, but sometimes in life, it's catch as cat can.

Remember when Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick led an illegal dogfighting ring, a cruel bloodsport that pits canine against canine for the sole purposes of gambling and violence, often resulting in the death of innocent animals? Remember that guy? Yeah, well, he's getting a TV show.

Tentatively titled "The Michael Vick Project", the BET docu-series will follow the athlete-cum-convicted felon (who was accused of "directly participating in dog fights and executions") as he seeks remorse for his actions. In doing so, the program will chronicle Vick's return to the NFL, as well as his attempt to find redemption for his actions, which have not been forgotten among the animal activist set. In fact, PETA spokesman Dan Shannon tells the L.A. Times, "People who abuse animals don't deserve to be rewarded, [nor should they] be given multimillion-dollar contracts ... or the privilege of being a role model."

We must agree with PETA (although that shouldn't come as a surprise). No matter how regretful Vick may (or may not) be of his actions, the fact that he has so quickly bounced from behind prison bars to the front of a camera lens seems blatantly opportunistic and ultimately in poor taste. Furthermore, Vick's claim that the show will be "a blueprint for so many kids" is laughable. Considering all the societal ills threatening children today, remaining a filthy rich sports star after being punished for killing dogs for more money isn't necessarily at the top of the totem pole.

Exactly what good will "The Michael Vick Project" do? More over, what good can "The Michael Vick Project" do? An idea such as this says less about genuine redemption than it does about both ratings-hungry television executives and overeager public relations staffers eagerly taking advantage of "how entertainment works now." The prospect of handing Vick a reality show steeped in themes of atonement and salvation -- for which his compensation hasn't been disclosed (um, hi, animal rights charity?) -- should read less as a socially conscious act and more as a tactless, crafty method of image repair, all in the name of -- you guessed it -- money.

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